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Knewton's model seems to be "academic advantage for those who can afford it". I prefer the Khan Academy model: "provide good lessons for free to those who have

by brianl 15y ago

Knewton's model seems to be "academic advantage for those who can afford it". I prefer the Khan Academy model: "provide good lessons for free to those who have the desire to learn".

gojomo 15y ago
We can like them both. For-profits have often been better at rapidly exploring the beneficial-interactions opportunity-space than pure non-profits and charitable organizations.
blake8086 15y ago
I don't understand why you came in here to say little more than "this costs money, I don't like it", while taking a shot at people who have earned disposable income. Do you really think Khan Academy is free? It's only free if you have electricity, a computer, and a broadband internet connection. Knewton really adds only a tiny amount of money on top of that massive infrastructure cost. Even if you think "oh, just go to the public library!" I would respond, "how, with what money or means?" That's not free either. None of these things are "free". I feel that you've simply taken an arbitrary ideological stance where a company producing materials and asking for money to compensate them is somehow less "preferable".
- ahel 15y ago
  I think like you that the fact that this company makes money from users rather than receiving from rich benefactors, is not sufficient for disliking it. As yurylifshits points out, their ads make me feel like their product is awesome, and maybe it really is. Only that I would not know, till some users points out what are the pros and cons, with Khan Academy as second term of comparison. I, as eu universitary students, cannot afford to pay 400$, only to see if their products fits my needs. It's a pity I bet.
achompas 15y ago
This type of faux-populist attitude is bothersome, especially since it's so popular on HN. Why dichotomize attempts to change education along monetary lines? Khan is changing education from without, and Knewton is changing it from within. What's wrong with either approach?
brianl 15y ago
I made a "preference" statement, not a "dislike" statement. I would wait until I tried the product before being judgmental...

by brianl 15y ago

Knewton's model seems to be "academic advantage for those who can afford it". I prefer the Khan Academy model: "provide good lessons for free to those who have the desire to learn".

gojomo 15y ago

We can like them both. For-profits have often been better at rapidly exploring the beneficial-interactions opportunity-space than pure non-profits and charitable organizations.

blake8086 15y ago

I don't understand why you came in here to say little more than "this costs money, I don't like it", while taking a shot at people who have earned disposable income. Do you really think Khan Academy is free? It's only free if you have electricity, a computer, and a broadband internet connection. Knewton really adds only a tiny amount of money on top of that massive infrastructure cost. Even if you think "oh, just go to the public library!" I would respond, "how, with what money or means?" That's not free either. None of these things are "free". I feel that you've simply taken an arbitrary ideological stance where a company producing materials and asking for money to compensate them is somehow less "preferable".

ahel 15y ago
I think like you that the fact that this company makes money from users rather than receiving from rich benefactors, is not sufficient for disliking it. As yurylifshits points out, their ads make me feel like their product is awesome, and maybe it really is. Only that I would not know, till some users points out what are the pros and cons, with Khan Academy as second term of comparison. I, as eu universitary students, cannot afford to pay 400$, only to see if their products fits my needs. It's a pity I bet.

achompas 15y ago

This type of faux-populist attitude is bothersome, especially since it's so popular on HN. Why dichotomize attempts to change education along monetary lines? Khan is changing education from without, and Knewton is changing it from within. What's wrong with either approach?

brianl 15y ago

I made a "preference" statement, not a "dislike" statement. I would wait until I tried the product before being judgmental...